We got home on Sunday at 9:30am. Had a leisurely brunch at Golden Corral and came home to relax. Ever have a wonderful vacation and then feel like you need a vacation to recover? That's how we feel! We each have today off as well so the real world begins tomorrow. And I have almost no idea where to begin posting about the trip.
So I'll start at the beginning - We went on a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas with 3 stops.
We had a short flight to FLL which we found was cheaper than flying into Miami and we're all about saving money. And we used SAS Transport service to get us to the Port of Miami. It was $15 per person. If you have a group (4 or more) leaving the airport at the same time it is probably cheaper to go in on either a limo or a cab. And faster - using a van service means you probably won't be the only people being picked up and there is a possibility of having to wait on passengers who are on a delayed flight. We landed in Miami at 9:30 am and the boat didn't leave till 5 - we had plenty of time! In fact after picking up 8 more people (4 of whom were on our cruise!), we were on board by 11 am! We checked our bags and headed to the open restaurant for lunch! When we finished we found his dad and other family members and hung out till around 1 o'clock catching up and discussing dinner plans. Then we went to check out the room and the view! They tell you the rooms may not be ready until about 3 but we always check after we've had lunch. You just never know how much they had to turnover. It was ready and this is what we saw! (ignore my hair - it was super humid, windy, and stormy in the distance! Oh and you'll notice in later pics that shrinkage is serious!!)
From our Balcony! We're officially spoiled - we now think we should get a balcony on every cruise we go on! This time it was a free upgrade! It really does pay to stalk the website and sign up to get special deals and offers! Our bags were there so we unpacked a little and explored the ship until it was time for dinner. Now I may have mentioned it before but Hubby's dad is in his 70's as are his remaining siblings and their spouses. So our dinner time for the week was 5:30. It's a really good thing you can pretty much get food anytime on the ship. Our normal dinner time is between 7 and 9 so this was a bit early. But we made the decision each night to join them for dinner (NCL has freestyle cruising which means you can dine in the main dining rooms anytime you'd like.)
We both really feel that it's important to spend as much time with our families as we can. Not only is tomorrow not promised, but our older relatives have much more time behind them than ahead and they have much to teach us if we are willing to listen. And frankly, they enjoy being with us. And it feels SO good, to feel so welcome in their company. I loved it... The stories they told and the times that they have shared. They reminded us constantly to take the time to travel now and not to wait until we retire like they did. They've been traveling the world together for years - been to all but 3 continents and they have plans to visit all but Antarctica. Two of the sisters have white jackets with all the countries they've visited on them. It's pretty cool.
Anyways - back to the boat - After dinner the young people (40 and under) went to thriller dance class held in one of the clubs. We had a great time learning the moves. So much fun!
Anyways - back to the boat - After dinner the young people (40 and under) went to thriller dance class held in one of the clubs. We had a great time learning the moves. So much fun!
SN: a lady who went to the "Pub Crawl" that ended around the time our lesson was ending decided to join us... Let's just say she was a fine example of how NOT to be in public. She clearly was enjoying herself... Not sure how good she felt when she woke up though...
After the "Thriller" lessons we went poolside for some dessert and then we went back to the club - Hubby and I - for Cha Cha lessons! We had so much fun. We are going to keep our eyes peeled for a Groupon for lessons here. Hubby is light on his feet. I'm a little rythmically challeneged but I got it after a while. He's a very patient partner ;-) We caught some of the Welcome Aboard show and then headed off to bed! It was barely 10pm but it had been a long day!
Here's a few day 1 shots
Setting Sun!
Panoramic view (still docked)
Carnival ship headed out of Port! We were behind them most of the trip!
This is most definitely long enough for one post. Day one set a great tone for the trip.
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